Bigger Seats Bill Squashed Plus Other Airline News

As expected and predicted, legislation that would have mandated size standards for airline passenger seats was defeated in a committee vote Thursday. The vote was 33-26 as the House transportation committee was voting on amendments to a bill to fund the FAA.

Sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, the “Seat Egress in Air Travel Act” – or SEAT Act – would have been a hit with air travelers who have experienced a loss of personal space in coach seating. But Cohen is more concerned about safety when it comes to passengers on packed flights having to exit in case of an emergency.

During debate in the committee before the vote, Cohen said airline seats are “hard to get out of” and “they keep getting smaller and smaller.”

“We’re down to four major carriers and they do what they want,” said Cohen, referring to recent mergers of the nation’s large airlines.

Cohen said he pledges to continue to fight for the legislation.

Turkish Airlines Plans More Growth

If you’re a fan of Batman, you’d probably love the chance to fly to Gotham City. But you can’t, because it doesn’t exist.

But that’s not preventing Turkish Airlines from piggybacking on the upcoming “Batman vs. Superman” film to drum up business. And the airline is aiming for big business.

Turkish Airlines, which has been growing like a weed for the last decade, announced its week that it plans to grow capacity by 21 percent in 2016. It plans to increase its fleet from 299 to 339 by year’s end.

Officials Say Somali Bomber Targeted Wrong Plane

One of last week’s big stories was the bomb that was set off on a Daallo Airlines A321. According to officials from Daallo, the bomber, who was the only person killed in the explosion, was meant to be on a Turkish Airlines flight.

Turkish Airlines decided to cancel a scheduled flight from Mogadishu to Djibouti. The airline decided the weather was too bad to fly. Daallo Airlines, which is based in Djibouti, brought its plane to Mogadishu to transport the 70 passengers stranded by the Turkish Airlines cancellation.

Wendell Barnhouse is a veteran journalist with over 40 years of experience as a writer and an editor. For the last 30 years, he wrote about college sports but he has had an interest and curiosity about aviation since he was in grade school.